Self-publishing authors need to know various skill sets to get their book ready for the public eye. Many will be new skills that will have to be learned, but don’t worry there is hope. There is plenty of free information for the industrious self-puber, and all it requires is reading & research, and then good old-fashioned trial and error. Look through the information with a scouring eye and chose the information from the best authorities in that topic.
#1. Most important is good creative writing – that’s a no brain-er.
#2. Book formatting, both for eBooks and printed.
#3. Attractive book cover design. Yes, people do judge by the cover!
#4. MARKETING, which can be broken down into many new skills needed and choices available. Here are a just a few marketing areas to consider:
- Social Media Blitz – posting on twitter, Facebook, Pinit, google etc.
- Author Platforms – blogs, web-sites etc.
- Press Release – newspapers, magazine both on-line & traditional
- Book Tour – readings at stores, libraries etc.
- Interviews – radio, etc.
- Pod casts – per-recorded & live
- Book Trailers – short videos
- Give away – Free books, contests, signing etc.
There are many more marketing ideas, and the best plan is always to be ahead and think up new original ways to get your work out there and noticed. One major thing every self-publisher needs to remember is that the book must be searchable. This will require an ISBN number. This is definitely something you don’t want to skip.
The ISBN is the number that links all you important metadata to the organizations that will be selling your book. It is necessary for any printed book. A unique ISBN needs to be assigned for each format – hard cover, paperback, audio book etc. Some retailers like Amazon do not require an ISBN for an e-book format, but it is still an option to supply your own. If you are thinking of using the ISBN to track sales etc, you may want to supply your own. Check out more information at Bowkers…they have a great informational site. Bowker.com – US/products 
